To package wet sheets and other sheet-shaped objects, the practice of impregnating wet sheets with a cosmetic material, chemical solution, etc., for example, and then individually packaging these wet sheets in such a way that each package can be opened to remove the wet sheet inside for use, is known. To use these wet sheets, individually packaged wet sheets are put in one bag and the individual packages are removed from the bag one by one and opened for use; however, these wet sheets, although preventing bacterial growth and attachment of contaminants because they are individually packaged, are not very user-friendly in that their packages must be opened individually to use the wet sheets.
Also, wet sheet products such as wet tissues, body wipes, or other relatively large wet sheets that are folded and stacked together to allow for pop-up, and then stored in a plastic container or packaged in a pillow-shaped package bag, are widely used. Wet sheets are also, like tissues, put in a box or bag and pulled out for use one by one from an opening at the top of the box or one side of the bag. To allow wet sheets to be removed one by one from an opening, however, they must be folded in a special way, and this complicates the manufacturing process.
Another widely used art involves individually packaging small wet sheets (such as pads for treating small areas and partial masks designed to treat specific areas of the face) and then stacking and storing them in a sealable container.
Known examples of the foregoing, or stacking small wet sheets and putting them in a box or bag, include one described in Patent Literature 1 wherein pads impregnated with a cosmetic material are stacked and stored in a container and the pads are removed one by one from an opening at the top, and another described in Patent Literature 2 using a container in which pads impregnated with a cosmetic material are stacked, wherein the pads are stacked in a manner partially overlapping each other and are removed at this overlapping part through a lidded opening at the top of the container.
Patent Literature 3 describes a flexible-material container for dispensing characterized in that it is made from a single plastic sheet which is folded into a formed product with two exterior walls and two interior walls and having a roughly W-shaped cross-section, wherein the exterior walls are partially notched at the top to create a dispensing outlet; however, this container has no sealability and no means is available, either, for sealing the notched dispensing outlet.
According to the means for stacking pads that are not individually packaged, and storing them in a container to allow them to be removed one by one from a dispensing outlet at the top, like those described in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 above, the pads that have been removed from the container must be spread with two hands for use because of the way the pads are folded.
Also, according to the art described in Patent Literature 1, the wet sheets tend to stick together, so it is not necessarily easy to separate the sheets and remove them one by one. To solve this problem, Patent Literature 2 proposes a method of offsetting the positions of adjacent sheets as they are stacked; however, this requires a larger container relative to the size of the sheet in itself, which is not desirable as it adds cost and is also counter-effective for reducing waste materials.